


Like You're Happy to See Me

by backinthebox



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-20
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2018-09-18 20:30:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9401807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/backinthebox/pseuds/backinthebox
Summary: Being kissed by a random hot girl at a random party had not been part of her original plans for the night, but Aubrey figured there were worse things.The extended version of the Party ficlet from Inter Alia.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Knappster](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Knappster/gifts).



> I'm expanding this particular universe, yes. The original ficlet is still in the Inter Alia collection, since I don't know how to migrate published chapters onto new stories. Chapters will be slow to update, though.
> 
> Read. Enjoy.

"Hey, Chloe, it's… late. Past eleven. I don't know where you are, but Alice just dragged some of us out of the house and I'm not sure if she's about to unleash her inner mob boss on us, so if and when you get this message, if I'm not back in twenty-four hours, I love you and please tell my parents I love them." Aubrey pursed her lips, trying to think of what else she could leave as a final message, but ultimately decided she had nothing else to say to her best friend. She ended the call, wishing Chloe hadn't been out on a date when Alice decided to take the few Barden Bellas hanging out at the Bella house that night out to a party she just "needed" to go to. Aubrey had only been at the house to get notes from the girls, but Alice figured she could drag Aubrey along as their designated driver. The party was at an off-campus fraternity house, and Aubrey usually liked being part of the Bellas' inner circle, but not if she was only there as the designated driver.

It didn't help that she knew Alice was only being civil to her because she was the clear successor to being the Barden Bellas' captain and manager, because Alice couldn't stand Chloe for reasons nobody could understand. And they had recently made it past the semifinals for the first time in Barden Bellas history, so while Aubrey could have opted out of coming along tonight, she was going to take advantage of the momentary reprieve from Alice's reign of terror while Alice was still riding the high of being the first Bella captain to bring them to the ICCA Finals.

But coming along to the party meant Aubrey had to stay sober, and that was a disappointment. She pouted at the can of soda in her hand, because she honestly would rather be home finishing her homework than staying at a party where she only knew the Bellas.

"Act like you're happy to see me."

Aubrey turned, startled, at the voice that had spoken, and found herself facing an extremely attractive dark-haired girl whose full, pouty lips were upturned in a mischievous smile. She wore a low-cut top and extremely tight pants, and— _damn it_. Aubrey snapped her eyes back up to meet the girl's, whose smile had turned into a knowing grin. She mustered an awkward smile. "Excuse me?"

"There's a guy – seven o'clock, don't look – and he's kind of been…"

"Do you want me to get rid of him?" Aubrey asked, briefly glancing in the direction the girl had indicated, but found more than one guy looking in their direction.

The girl smiled, quirking an eyebrow. "What's your plan?"

"I can talk to him and—"

"I have a better idea."

"Okay-?"

Okay, being kissed by a random hot girl at a random party had not been part of her original plans for the night, but Aubrey figured there were worse things. Aubrey closed her eyes, surrendering to the moment and kissing her back, letting her hands drift to the girl's waist to steady herself. 

The girl smiled into their kiss and gently eased off, slightly pulling back. She licked her lips, amused with the way Aubrey's gaze followed the movement. "Not a drinker?"

"Not tonight." Aubrey admitted.

"Designated driver?"

She confirmed the girl's guess. "Designated driver."

The girl nodded in understanding. She tilted her head to indicate behind her. "Is he still there?"

Aubrey glanced over, but the people there weren't paying attention to them at all. "I think he's gone."

"Cool." Aubrey found it a little amusing that the girl didn't even check for herself. "So," she continued, jutting one hip out as she adjusted her stance, and tilted her head to the side questioningly. "Do you go to Barden?"

Aubrey smiled. "Nice segue."

"I try." She acknowledged. "I'd apologize about just kissing you right now, but I'm not really sorry about it."

"Smooth." Aubrey noted.

The girl gave her a dazzling smile. "I don't hear you complaining."

"Because I'm not."

"Of course you wouldn't, it was hot." She smirked. "And you liked it."

Aubrey lifted an eyebrow. "Do you go around kissing people you don't know at parties?"

"I don't know anyone else at this party, and it's a frat party, and you looked like the safest bet."

"How did you know I'd play along?"

"You look like someone who'd help a girl in need." The girl replied.

"And the kiss?"

"Lucky guess."

Aubrey shook her head in bemusement, feeling completely enthralled by this girl without quite knowing why.

"What do you study in Barden?"

"Are you going to try and guess all my secrets?"

"I don't think the school you go to gets to be considered a secret." She noted. She held out her hand. "Stacie."

"Aubrey." Aubrey shook her hand.

"So? Barden?"

Aubrey nodded. "But it's just been a hell of a week for me, so if you don't mind us not talking about school, that'll be great."

"That bad?"

Aubrey winced.

Stacie giggled. "Sorry."

"No, it's…" Aubrey stopped herself, realizing that she was talking to someone who she was pretty sure wasn't a Barden University student, which meant she didn't know about the Barden Bellas, or the reputation that the Bellas or Aubrey had around campus. To this girl, she wasn't anything but another girl at a party. She exhaled. "It's been a long week."

She smiled at Aubrey. "So why aren't you partying harder?"

"Designated driver." Aubrey reminded.

"Right." Stacie nodded, acknowledging her lapse in memory. "Just to be clear, I don't go around kissing random strangers at parties."

"I'm not sure I believe you." Aubrey admitted.

Stacie looked at her for a long moment before she inclined her head, accepting the accusation. "Got me. But I kiss hot strangers."

"That makes me feel _much_ better."

"Awesome." Stacie smiled, and Aubrey had a feeling she was not alone in her inability to resist the other girl. "So, Aubrey, do _you_ go around kissing hot strangers at random parties?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "There's no answer to that that makes me look good."

"Hot and self-aware. Be still my heart." Stacie grinned, and gestured outside. "This house has a pool. Want to go outside?"

"I'd like to keep my clothes on, thank you."

Stacie gave her a droll look. "Oh, Aubrey, if I wanted you out of your clothes, you'd be naked already."

Aubrey shook her head, laughing softly. "You are…"

"Hot? Amazing?"

"Unbelievable." Aubrey concluded.

"You're not saying no." Stacie pointed out.

Aubrey wondered how much she would regret this later on, but she answered with, "So there's a pool?"

If she thought kissing a girl she didn't even know was a surreal experience, Aubrey had no idea what to say about the fact that she remained pinned under Stacie on a poolside chair, enjoying the way the other girl moved with and against her, how hotly her skin felt against her own, the way her kisses sent shivers down her spine and made her yearn for more. They had been talking for hours, occasionally interrupted by heated sessions like the one they were currently in, and Aubrey had decided she really liked this girl.

Stacie broke their kiss with a gasp, and picking up on their last thread of conversation, husked against Aubrey's lips, "You're on the Dean's List _and_ on partial scholarship. And you look like this? Do people hate you?"

"Probably." Aubrey admitted, carefully keeping her hands on top of Stacie's clothes, knowing that the moment she touched skin, she would be a goner. "But my best friend says I just need to balance out the nerd with more relevant stuff."

"Yeah?" Stacie traced Aubrey's collarbone with the tip of her finger. "Like what?"

"My go-to is always the E! network." Aubrey confessed.

"To keep up with the Kardashians?" Stacie joked.

"Well, it's not to keep Ryan Seacrest in business." Aubrey deadpanned.

"Balance out Engineering with E!, got it." Stacie nodded.

"You're an Engineering student?" Aubrey asked, since school was the only subject they have been avoiding from discussing in any detail, following her earlier request.

"That's the plan." Stacie admitted.

"Undeclared?" Aubrey guessed.

"Sure." Stacie smiled, leaning in close and kissing her again. "Let's go with that."

"What—" Aubrey's question was interrupted by her phone's ringtone. She smiled sheepishly at Stacie as she retrieved it. She checked the screen, and was relieved when it wasn't Alice. "I have to take this."

"Okay." Stacie replied, even as she leaned down to trail kisses down Aubrey's neck.

Aubrey allowed herself a second to enjoy the sensation before she reluctantly answered the phone call. "This is Aubrey."

"Let's go. Alice is drunk and Hazel's getting the rest of the Bellas." Lisa, one of her fellow Bellas, told her in sharp tones.

"But--"

"Now, Aubrey!" With that, Lisa hung up.

Aubrey sighed, making Stacie pull back to gaze at her in concern. "You have to go?"

"Yeah, I—"

"Stace, we have to go!" Someone called from the house a few feet away.

Stacie smiled wryly at Aubrey. "I know the feeling."

"Listen, why don't—"

"Aubrey!" Someone yelled, making Aubrey jump and ease Stacie off of her to stand; and Stacie was honestly quite impressed with the way Aubrey quickly adjusted her clothes back to something more presentable.

Aubrey cast an apologetic smile upon Stacie as they both rushed towards the house. All Aubrey could see of the Bella who had called her name was a retreating back, but the girl who had called Stacie quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the house, disappearing into the crowd and leaving Aubrey behind.

Stacie blew Aubrey a kiss, mischievous and teasing, grinning like the cat who'd gotten the canary.

Aubrey sighed, but didn't have time to dwell on it, because her phone rang once more, and this time Alice was calling.

 

* * *

 

They had at least five people who had taken an interest in the Barden Bellas – Fat Amy being one, and a girl Aubrey recognized as a former member of the high school a cappella champions – but it wasn't enough, and Aubrey didn't know if she and Chloe would have enough members to build a solid Bella foundation upon, and she would be _damned_ if she had to resort to Sockapella antics to make up for their lack of voices.

"Act like you're happy to see me."

Aubrey's brow furrowed at the familiar words, and she turned around quickly to a vision. "You!"

"Me." The tall brunette confirmed. She pointed at herself. "Stacie."

"I know." Aubrey was smiling the first real smile she'd really felt since the disaster at the Lincoln Center months ago. "What are you doing here?"

"I go here. Now." Stacie hesitated, clearly trying to come to a decision about something, before she confessed, "I'm a freshman."

Aubrey tilted her head to the side, regarding the taller girl, and dryly observed, "you really _weren't_ an Engineering student."

Stacie smiled sheepishly. "I am now?"

Aubrey shook her head. "What were you doing at that party?"

"Campus tour, we sneaked out to check out what a real college party was like." Stacie admitted. She pointed at the fliers in Aubrey's hand. "Are you going to give me one of those?"

Aubrey obediently handed her one.

Stacie read the biggest print on the handbill. "The Barden Bellas." She glanced briefly at Aubrey, quirking an eyebrow and lifting the paper in her hand. "Judging from these uniforms you're not a girl gang named after the girl from _Twilight_."

"Funny. We're an all-female college a cappella group."

Stacie considered that, and shook her head slightly. "Not sure that's better."

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Do you sing?"

"Sure." Stacie folded the flier into the smallest possible square it could be, and as Aubrey watched, tucked it under the top of her blouse and into her bra. She smiled knowingly when Aubrey seemed to realize what she was looking at and where, and snapped out of it, looking back up at Stacie. She leaned closer to Aubrey and licked her lips slowly, enjoying the slight hitch in the blonde's breath, before she smiled and stepped away. "I'll see you around, Aubrey."

Aubrey had liked the subtle seduction of the girl she'd met the previous year and made out with for hours by the pool, but the girl in front of her now was even more of a predator, and she swallowed thickly.

Stacie glanced back over her shoulder to make sure Aubrey was still watching, and when their eyes met, winked at the blonde.

She smiled to herself when she could practically hear Aubrey whimper as she walked away.

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

When in doubt, state some facts.

And the facts were these:

Four people can realistically create a solid a cappella sound, provided those were four solid performers; she was okay, and Chloe was a far better singer than she was, but they'll need at least three more to round off their sound.

Alice's breakdown for their ICCA performance had been for at least eight people, the choreography – limited as it was – was for twelve. Ten would be a compromise, but as experience under Alice's rule of tyranny presented, they would have to allow for people dropping out of the Bellas; some people just weren't capable of the dedication required of being a Bella.

Chloe was not going to relent on getting that alt-girl onboard, so it was up to her to figure out how to fill their ranks without wanting to tear her hair out.

That girl from last year's high school a cappella champions would be a nice addition. She had to take Fat Amy, because that level of talent and that kind of personality would be wasted on the Harmonics. Maybe Cynthia Rose.

Or she could take the few that weren't terrible and just let the mortality rate speak for itself. Between two-a-days, the cardio, and maintaining a decent GPA, she doubted many would be able to see it through the finals, anyway.

Not to mention the fact that they weren't allowed to associate sexually with Treblemakers, who by the sad coincidence of being the only other competitive a cappella group on campus, were the closest thing they had to an affiliate.

She really hoped the Bellas this year would be smarter than to associate sexually with any of the Treblemakers.

Speaking of associating sexually.

The doors to the elevator in the administrative building opened, and Aubrey could already feel herself blushing when she saw the only person inside.

Stacie smiled, a slow blossoming of a smile pulling on her lips as she regarded the blonde. "Hi."

Aubrey tried to keep her smile polite and neutral, but she couldn't control her natural impulses with this girl, and she returned the goofy smile with one of her own. "Hi."

Mercifully, Stacie stayed at her corner of the elevator, allowing Aubrey to maintain some dignity as she stepped in and joined her inside.

Stacie. Her application form had been a source of endless amusement for Chloe, what with all the euphemisms and innuendo that filled it, and Chloe had wanted her in the group if only for that. Stacie had a decent voice, albeit untrained, but she had a stage presence and charm that Aubrey had no doubt could win over the most cold-hearted of judges.

And, as Chloe had noted, as if Aubrey was oblivious to the fact, Stacie was hot.

They were silent as the elevator doors closed, but Aubrey could feel the charge in the air around them, more than aware of Stacie's presence.

"Am I a Bella yet?"

"Final decisions will be announced on Friday."

"That wasn't my question."

Aubrey closed her eyes, wondering silently if this ancient elevator has always worked so slowly.

"Did you like my audition?"

Aubrey nearly jumped at the question – not for its content, definitely – but the fact that she hadn't realized Stacie had moved closer to her, and the query was whispered so closely to her ear, Stacie's breath tickled her skin there, accomplishing the dual task of startling her and making her heart rate spike.

Aubrey turned slightly to look at Stacie, the distance between them scant inches apart. "The facial expressions need to stop."

"I'm expressive." Stacie shrugged.

"And the touching is exaggerated."

Stacie grinned. "Those two things are closely related."

Aubrey visibly paused. Her brain had stalled at that, unsure of where to bring that statement.

"Which I'm sure you'll figure out eventually."

 _What?_ Aubrey was almost sure her brain had short-circuited.

"And I like touching myself."

Brain, meet gutter.

Aubrey's mouth went dry at the blunt declaration, but she somehow managed to say, "you'll need to stop doing that."

Stacie raised a really sexy eyebrow.

Aubrey hastened to add, "Onstage."

"What about offstage?"

Aubrey barely held back a whimper.

Stacie smiled, leaning in closer. "You know, if I'm a Bella, we'll get to spend that much more time together."

"That would be nice." Aubrey admitted.

"That would be very nice," Stacie purred.

On second thought, Aubrey wasn't sure she would survive that.

Stacie licked her lips, and Aubrey found herself mirroring the action, wondering when her lips had gone dry, but felt a brief moment of triumph when Stacie's gaze flickered down. When her gaze lifted back up, there was an intensity there that burned through Aubrey. "I've missed you."

"Me too." Aubrey admitted.

Which was stupid, and a little ridiculous, since they barely knew each other, but Aubrey hadn't realized a part of her had ached until Stacie had shown up at the activities fair.

Stacie smiled.

"You know, your choice of hobbies and interests were a little suspect for an Engineering student." Aubrey noted.

"Well," Stacie shrugged, "this really hot girl at a party once told me to balance out the nerdier stuff with something relevant."

Aubrey smiled softly. "You remember that?"

"I remember everything." Stacie closed the distance between them, leaning down and letting her lips brush upon Aubrey's jaw, "Like the way _this_ ," she darted her tongue lightly against Aubrey's pulse point, and Aubrey could feel the other girl smile against her skin at the involuntary shudder that ran her frame, "gets you going."

Aubrey's response was cut off by the telltale sound of the elevator signaling they had reached their stop.

Stacie pulled back, and smiled brightly at Aubrey. "This is where I get off."

 _What?_ "What?"

Stacie kissed her cheek, and stepped back past the open elevator doors. She blew a kiss to Aubrey. "Come and see me."

"Wh—"

"Or, you know, vice versa." Stacie added cheekily, just as the elevator doors closed.

Aubrey stared at the stainless steel doors, wondering where the hell they had come from, before she blinked, unsure of what had happened.

_What?_

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

"She's just another Bella," Aubrey whispered to herself, taking a deep breath. She rolled her eyes, realizing she was talking to herself, and blew out a breath in annoyance. Ever since the… _incident_ at the ICCA Finals at the Lincoln Center, she'd been off her game, and this latest… _situation_ was an unforeseen… _challenge_.

Aubrey sighed, because she could euphemize all she wanted, but she knew the deal: she was smitten, and she was so, so torn between being immature and selfish or being responsible and adult about the whole thing. She had already lost sleep over it the night before, the touching during auditions an unnecessary cause for insomnia, followed by their encounter on the elevator, which wasn't helping matters, and to top it all off the official initiation wasn't until the next day.

She was going to run late meeting Chloe about planning the logistics of kidnapping the new Barden Bellas, but she needed to deal with a minor – major – detail first, and she had to be certain she would be making an informed decision.

The decision was taken out of her hands when Stacie Conrad opened the door to her freshman dorm room and smiled at her. "Took you long enough."

"What?" Clever.

"Took you a full day, I must be losing my touch." Stacie mused, smiling at Aubrey.

Oh that fucking smile. Aubrey melted with that smile.

"I'm a Bella." Stacie surmised, stepping aside to let Aubrey into her room and closing the door behind her.

"Not quite." Aubrey wished to God she hadn't clocked the single bed in the room, but there it was, indicating Stacie not only lived alone, but more importantly did not have a roommate, and she turned quickly to face Stacie by the door.

Just in time to see Stacie's lips pulled into a pout, and it took so much self-control – of which Aubrey had once been certain she had plenty – not to press her own lips to them. Instead, she hastened to explain, "You're _almost_ a Bella."

And there went up the eyebrow.

"The Barden Bellas are more than just an acapella singing group, it's a sisterhood, and—"

"So we'll be sisters?" If it was possible to put an entire metric ton of mockery into an innocent question, Stacie had managed to do so.

Aubrey faltered, because she _really_ did not want – or need – to think about Stacie in that context. "Maybe not _quite_ sisters…"

Stacie grinned, and asked, "So how do I become a Bella, Aubrey?"

"Oh, there's just an initiation, and an oath-taking, some ritual—"

Stacie, never one to misread a cue, smiled a smile that Aubrey could only describe as predatory and started to move closer to Aubrey, enjoying the hitch in the blond girl's breath. "An oath?"

"And a ritual…" Aubrey's voice trailed off, weakening with every inch Stacie covered between them.

"Is it an oath of celibacy?"

"Celibacy?" Aubrey echoed faintly, confused, and unsure of just how it was possible she could discern the individual lashes on Stacie's eyes but for the other girl to still be too far away.

"Tell me, _Aubrey_ ," Stacie husked, enjoying the way Aubrey's eyelids fluttered shut as she spoke, her lips brushing lightly against Aubrey's cheek, "Is there a rule somewhere that says Bellas can't date each other?"

"No…" Aubrey's brow knit as she drew out her reply, because while she had studied the Barden Bella bible obsessively, there had been no mention of inter-Bella dating anywhere.

"Good to know." Stacie declared.

Before Aubrey could ask why, her lips were covered with Stacie's, and _oh_ , she had no idea it was possible to miss something she had only experienced once – technically – and just like last time, she completely melted under Stacie's control, and she was pretty sure there was something she was supposed to be doing, but who even cared when Stacie Conrad was kissing her.

Her phone did not agree.

"You're vibrating." Stacie whispered. She grinned lasciviously. "My kind of girl."

Aubrey did not know why Stacie's lips weren't kissing her, and she was quick to remedy that problem, pulling her back in for a kiss.

Only to pull away a second later, realizing the phone in her pocket was ringing, and if Chloe was calling, was not going to be ignored. Reluctant to leave her current position, she answered the phone. "Hello?"

"I know, I know, I'm late, but were we meeting at the library, or the benches by the quad?"

"Uh," Aubrey's brain was unfortunately distracted by Stacie's intimate focus on her neck, and was unable to conjure a decent answer.

"Whatever, I'll find you. I'm, uh, going to convince Tom to help out with the kidnapping, we'll be a little late. Okay?"

"Okay," Aubrey managed to say, trying – unsuccessfully – to ease Stacie's mouth from her neck.

"Awes. Ten minutes." Pause, where Aubrey was almost certain she heard some guy on Chloe's end of the line say something. "Twenty." Chloe amended. "Half an hour, tops."

"What?" Aubrey asked, momentarily distracted, but Chloe had already hung up, about a split second before Stacie found a certain spot on her neck that snapped alert all of Aubrey's nerve endings, making her gasp.

She should hate that shit-eating grin on Stacie's face when she lifted her head to check if she had done good – instead of continuing, damn her – but Aubrey also just wanted those lips back on her own. She turned off her phone, and set it aside. "You're such a tease."

"And you're so wound up," Stacie returned, pecking Aubrey's lips. "Kidnapping, huh? You're kinda kinky, Aubrey."

"It's a ritual."

"Is this a sisterhood, or a cult?"

Aubrey paused, because between the so-called rituals and the amount of candles she and Chloe had found leftover in the Bellas' stockpile of supplies, she was beginning to question that herself.

"Because if that makes you the cult leader, I can get with that," Stacie teased. She smirked. "Are there candles?"

"There are candles," Aubrey allowed. Yes! Coherent thought. She still had a fighting chance. As an aside, she muttered, "A _lot_ of candles."

Stacie's eyes lit with mischief that should have warned Aubrey. "How do you feel about temperature play?"

And… _blank_. "About what?"

Stacie shrugged, kissing her again. "I guess we'll just have to find out."

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

She has no idea what she's doing.

Clearly.

Because maybe there isn't any written rule against Bellas dating within their ranks, but Aubrey's pretty sure the Bella to blame for last year's humiliation and instant disqualification from the ICCAs wouldn't be allowed to be in such a compromising position with a fellow Bella, and definitely not when they were still uninitiated.

On the other hand, technically, there was nothing untoward happening, since Stacie wasn't officially a Bella.

Yet.

"You know," Stacie murmured, in between a series of kisses, "I'm not doing this very well if you're distracted."

Which should be a crime, Stacie being made to think she's not very good at this, because Aubrey's kissed other people before – made out with some of them, even – but she's never been kissed the way Stacie does, and she was going to have to recalibrate who she considered to be a good kisser, because Stacie was ruining the curve.

So instead of answering, and undoubtedly saying something that would mess up the pleasant experience of making out with one Stacie Conrad, Aubrey pulled her back in, lips meeting and making it impossible to talk.

Aubrey has no idea what she's doing – on a larger scale, in the big-picture kind of way – but judging from the sounds Stacie was making, she was doing something right.

In the small-scale, inconsequential kind of way.

She hadn't meant to end up in Stacie's dorm room for the second time in so many days – she had even tried to focus on anything else _but_ the dark-haired freshman – but she and Chloe had agreed kidnapping the girls wasn't the best idea, given how they lacked the numbers that made previous years' initiation a piece of cake for older Bellas, and they had agreed to change parts of the initiation proceedings.

Maybe it was her conscience, reminding her of how she'd monumentally screwed up the Bellas' chances at the ICCA Finals, or just a voice of reason pointing out she couldn't, as captain, continue whatever it was she was doing with the new recruit, but Aubrey had actually dropped by Stacie's room to clear the air between them before Stacie became a full-fledged Bella.

At least, that had been the plan.

But then Stacie had smiled at her, and Aubrey wasn't about to make that go away.

And then Stacie's low-cut top had stalled most brain functions.

And then there had been kissing.

So much kissing.

Aubrey was just glad she'd sent Chloe off to pick up the scarves and a bottle (or two, to take the edge off) Boone's Farm – "the blood of the sisters" – which left Aubrey in peace to get their rehearsal space ready to swear in the new crop of Barden Bellas.

And recover from her little rendezvous at Stacie's dorm room without the discerning eye of her best friend, who would undoubtedly notice even the subtlest signs that Aubrey had very recently been kissed.

Thoroughly.

Stacie was really good.

And, okay, maybe she needed to get her head back in the game, and away from Stacie Conrad, for obvious reasons.

Like.

…

She was sure there were reasons. Very important reasons.

But…

Reasons.

And _maybe_ her imagination kind of ran away from her, imagining far more different circumstances where she would be lighting up so many white candles – Bella initiation really _was_ kind of cultish, she realized belatedly – but Aubrey finally got the job done, now all she had to do was finish setting up the table – "the altar", seriously – and wait for Chloe.

And get the Bellas.

Because, against all odds – and there it is again, that nagging voice inside her head that sounded horrifyingly like Alice, telling her that she'd single-handedly ruined the stellar standing of the Barden Bellas – they had enough members to compete, to round off their sound, to perform every and any of the songs in the Bellas' collection of performance numbers.

A part of her felt optimistic, because redemption was a possibility as long as they stayed in the competition, and she could admit to feeling the same positive message when Chloe turned to her, and said:

"We did it."

Well, sure, but watching the girls – and they _were_ girls, lacking the finesse and sophistication that should characterize being a Bella – Aubrey couldn't help but question that assessment with, "Did we?"

But the hope in Chloe's face is something Aubrey wants to believe in.

Besides, she had bigger concerns at the moment.

"You weren't kidding about the candles." Stacie noted casually, sidling up to Aubrey, indicating the room, where a few of the candles had already flickered out. Aubrey sighed, knowing she would probably end up extinguishing all of them, as well.

She did not think that one through.

When Aubrey didn't say anything, Stacie continued, "You could have warned me about the Boone's Farm, though."

Aubrey glanced at her. "Still trying to learn all my secrets?"

"Consider me intrigued," Stacie replied.

Cute. But: "You fudged your way through the oath."

Stacie's brow furrowed in confusion.

"About having sex with Trebles. You didn't say the entire thing through." And Aubrey wished she hadn't been watching Stacie so closely as to notice, or the fact that she cared.

But she did.

And it had actually _stung_ , realizing how Stacie wasn't actually saying that part of the oath.

Stacie frowned at her. "You can't be serious."

But she is. She wants to know Stacie's serious about being a Barden Bella, and being a Bella means staying as far away as possible from the proximity of a Treblemaker.

And, okay, _maybe_ she wants to know she's not going to get discarded for a _Treble_. Her pride can take a hit like a pro, but that would just be…

Well, she's sure she'll recover from the blow – eventually – but she doesn't want to actually _hate_ Stacie. Or plan her destruction.

"I promise not to have sex with any Trebles," Stacie said, looking expectantly at Aubrey. "Happy?"

Just a little. And Aubrey told her as much.

But before Aubrey could elaborate, Chloe came up, and reminded her they had to get to the amphitheater.

Right. Because what better way to reinforce the rule that Bellas can't have sex with Treblemakers than having them socialize, with music and dancing and alcohol.

It had disaster written all over it, but what better way to weed out the weak than to throw them off the deep end.

And barely five minutes in, and already Chloe's latest charity case was proving herself to be exactly what Aubrey had predicted – trouble – because she could pretend to be as alternative and broody as she wanted, but Aubrey had eyes, and the girl was low-key flirting with some new guy in a Treble hoodie.

She loved being right, but she was going to totally resent this Beca girl if she turns out to be the girl who will take the hope and optimism out of Chloe's senior year.

"You've been avoiding me," Stacie said, somehow appearing out of nowhere and falling into step with Aubrey as they danced to the music playing on someone's laptop.

She hasn't been, really. She's just been deliberately socializing with anyone else _but_ Stacie.

And maybe Beca, but that's a headache for another time.

"Listen, Stace—"

"I saw you and Amy watching me earlier."

"She's... pleasant." Aubrey allowed. She didn't know what to make of the girl who called herself Fat Amy, and while she normally disliked things she didn't completely understand, she was willing to make an exception for Fat Amy. And most of the other Bellas. 

( _Most_. Again: weeding out the weak.)

"Cynthia Rose says she's willing to hold my hair up if I start puking tonight." Stacie told her.

Aubrey arched an eyebrow.

"Now, I'm on the lookout for someone to hold the rest of me if I _don't_ start puking," Stacie continued, winking at her.

Aubrey stalled.

Stacie smiled, a stupid annoying knowing smile that Aubrey really wanted to kiss away but couldn't, not here, not surrounded by people who weren't exactly friends, and definitely not around Treblemakers who could see and would never let her hear the end of it.

"What do you say, Aubrey Posen?" Stacie grinned. "Are you up for it?"

Aubrey shook her head, amused. "Keep dancing, Stacie Conrad."

Stacie laughed, but acquiesced.

Aubrey still had no idea what the hell she was doing, but Stacie Conrad was doing a pretty good job of convincing her that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

 

 

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

She hates the Treblemakers.

She, like any ordinary person, had initially doubted the contempt with which senior Barden Bellas held the Trebles, but she was quick to learn that, nope, the contempt had been earned, and the Trebles really were horrible human beings.

Okay, caveat: they were horrible human beings as a collective.

Because she's shared classes with a few of them, and have held a conversation with some of them at one point or another, and they weren't always vile.

She understands the attractiveness of the popular crowd, how douchebag Big Men on Campus still somehow got dates – and the Treblemakers, by having been national a cappella champions, _were_ undoubtedly celebrities – but the _Trebles_? Really?

And there's an oath, and everything, was nothing sacred anymore?

Kori had been smart (cowardly), and had confided (confessed) her error in judgment (and taste) to Chloe, who had told her that rules had to be upheld.

Aubrey hoped Chloe had activated her tear ducts and had given Kori her most heartbroken, disappointed sad-eyed gaze, because some things just deserved that kind of punishment.

Speaking of punishment.

Aubrey had been seated when Stacie first entered the gym, so her initial impression of the girl and the short shorts the girl wore had been of _legs_ , and…

The smart thing, she knew, was to just end… whatever it was going on between them, to formalize her now-ever-present mantra that Stacie was just another girl, just another Bella, but…

But.

Stacie.

_Legs._

She was going to a special hell.

"As you can see, Kori is not here," Aubrey told the gathered group of Bellas. "Last night she was Treble-boned. She's been disinvited from the Bellas."

"That oath was serious?" Beca asked, and Aubrey wanted to throw something at her face for that hint of incredulity in her voice. Did the girl take oaths randomly? She wasn't a joiner – obviously – but did Chloe's charity case really not understand that sometimes people were judged entirely by what they said and believed in?

"Dixie Chicks serious." Aubrey shot back, and if this girl didn't know how serious that was, well, Aubrey wasn't about to explain how the Dixie Chicks were willing to derail their career by standing up for things they believed in.

Then again, that would probably be lost on a girl who didn't take oaths seriously, so maybe she didn't really believe in anything in the first place.

And, since Beca was being annoying, Aubrey had to remind the pint-sized freshman (and everyone else):  "You can fool around with anyone you want, just not a Treble."

"That's not going to be easy," Stacie piped in, because _of course she would_. When Aubrey's gaze fell upon her, Stacie used both hands to gesture at the general crotch area, "He's a hunter."

Aubrey did _not_ need to start thinking about fooling around in relation to the space between Stacie's legs, but her brain insisted on going there.

"You call it a dude?"

And thanks a lot, Beca, because now Aubrey was reminded of Stacie's failure to successfully deliver the oath about not having sex with Treblemakers – personal promises or not – and Aubrey allowed her annoyance about that little nagging reminder show.

"Stacie, the Trebles don't respect us. They treat us like we're one big joke." Which should be all Aubrey needed to say, but she kept talking: "And if we let them penetrate us, we're giving them our power."

She really shouldn't enjoy how Stacie slowly lowered her leg, closing the gap between her legs. Yes, Stacie, do not allow a Treble anywhere near that area, and everything would be fine.

Aubrey could be graceful in victory, even ignoring Fat Amy's assertion that it was "not a good enough reason to use the word penetrate".

On second thought, maybe she should have been even _more_ graceful in victory, because after sending Mary-Elise off (She hates the Trebles. Seriously. And the fact that they somehow have her phone number. That they have the means with which they can tell her these things.), and being reminded of the uphill battle ahead for her and the Bellas, her anxiety kicks in, and she has to cover her mouth to try and hold off the vomit that wants to be released.

And Lilly just _had_ to ask what happened last year.

It's been months, but she still internally dies of embarrassment and mortification from what had happened at the Lincoln Center. Because it's not just the projectile vomit – although that was humiliating enough, because that kind of visual should really be limited to horror movies like _The Exorcist_ – but the fact that it's such an obvious sign of weakness, that she had been nervous enough to let her nerves and internal organs get the better of her to produce such… _anyway_.

Her rapidly-deteriorating mood is not helped by the Bellas – if you can even call them that, because they're the least poised, the least collected, the least possible selection of girls any of her previous captains would ever _deign_ to call Barden Bellas – because they are—

Stop. Breathe.

Aubrey knew it wouldn't do to undermine the efforts of the girls, since most of them seemed to actually be _trying_ (if you could even call their minimal effort that). If only the ICCAs awarded points for effort. Which they don't.

But.

Jessica and Ashley seem to have decided to become a package deal, and it's nearly impossible to instruct one without instructing the other.

Denise won't look at her directly.

Fat Amy is starting to strike her as the laziest person ever to be called a Bella, even if her talent and eagerness made it more an inconvenience than anything else.

Cynthia Rose seems to be equally intent on checking out the other Bellas as she was in participating.

She has no idea what Lilly's deal is, but Chloe said they needed her, so Aubrey had capitulated.

Stacie was…

The point is, they were _trying_. Which was really all Aubrey could ask for, at this point.

"This point" being their very first rehearsal.

So it was fine. Everything was fine. As long as everyone _tried_ , they were fine.

That is.

Everyone was trying, with the annoying and vocal exception of Chloe's current pet project.

Yes, she gets it: the music of Alice's set was not what a lot of people would describe as "cool". But they _were_ classic. "Cool" only gets you so far, but classics can go a long way.

Yes, even she and Chloe had questioned describing anything related to Ace of Base as "classic" – her taste in music wasn't _that_ obsolete – but Alice's sets and song selections had gotten them to the finals last year – until Aubrey had screwed up _spectacularly_ – so she didn't really have a leg to stand on, did she?

The point is, she does not need some wannabe rebel-without-a-cause-or-taste-in-fashion freshman to be voicing dissent. Of any kind. She has enough problems. She would also prefer Beca to just admit she's flirting with a Treblemaker and get her expulsion from the Bellas over and done with – even if that meant Chloe crying for a few days (or weeks) about Beca's questionable life choices – but it's like cauterizing a wound.

Yes, Beca was like an infection that needed to be prevented. The longer she was around, the harder it would be to get rid of her.

But she digressed.

Beca was just part of a larger problem, Aubrey knew. The girls were individually talented, yes, and they seemed to be getting along nicely, but they were…

They weren't _ready_. The fact that Alice hadn't recruited anyone new the previous year meant she and Chloe didn't really have any knowledge of how to get the Bellas stage-ready in just a few rehearsal meetings.   

Yes, even with all the building blocks, they both knew getting back to the Lincoln Center would be harder than expected. The building blocks were just a guide.

She _wants_ to be as optimistic as Chloe. She _wants_ to believe the girls will be _ready_ and _be_ the epitome of a Bella woman.

Her faith in her new fellow Bellas isn't helped by the fact that the minute they're dismissed they all make quick getaways towards the exit, leaving her and Chloe to clean up. But Chloe's boundless optimism isn't helping her own feelings of concern and trepidation, so she sends Chloe off, agreeing the gym doesn't really need to be cleared out that afternoon, and that she'll just see her at the house for dinner.

Once Chloe was gone, Aubrey turned back to the whiteboard so she could once more study the Bella Building Blocks, wondering how she could possibly _begin_ to figure out how to do one better than Alice and not only get the Bellas to the finals, to not just have _a chance_ , but actually _win_.

Aubrey looked down, paused, and reached down to pick up something glittering on the floor.

An earring. Her brow furrowed for a second, before she recalled watching the projectile fly off during Stacie's pirouette.

Before nearly getting hit by Stacie's arm.

The universe, clearly, had it out against her.

Deciding to cut her losses for the day, Aubrey gathered her things, dropping the earring in her one of the pockets of her bag, and making the mental note to text Stacie about her earring once she got home. When she turned towards the door, however, she saw the girl returning to the gym. She couldn't help expressing a surprised, "Hi."

Stacie turned towards her, and smiled back. "Hi!"

As Stacie approached, Aubrey retrieved the earring from her bag pocket, and held it for the other girl. "I think you dropped this."

Stopping just shy of invading too much of Aubrey's personal space, Stacie raised an eyebrow and teased as she took the earring: "And you didn't give it back during rehearsal?"

"I just found it."

Stacie glanced down at the earring briefly before she looked back up at Aubrey and smiled. "Bummer, you trying to find an excuse for me to look for you would've been sexier."

Hearing that, Aubrey's cheeks tinted pink, because that was probably true, and if she were a more sensual (or sexual) person, she probably would have thought of that. Probably.

She was tempted to avert her eyes, but Stacie's intent gaze prevented her from doing so, and all she could manage was a faint, "Yeah."

There was a beat in which words could have been said, where either of them could have stepped back and moved to leave, but they remained standing there, too close to be anything but intimate, before the beat passed and they were kissing, Stacie pressing Aubrey against the back of a chair, both their bags dropped uselessly to the floor.

Aubrey broke their kiss. "We shouldn't." But then she quickly added, "Here. We can't do this here."

Stacie nodded, not even bothering to ask questions, and with her breath harsh against Aubrey's lips, suggested, "We could go somewhere else."

Aubrey wondered the wisdom of saying yes.

"So I can thank you properly." Stacie reasoned.

Well. In that case.

"What do you think?"

Aubrey smiled, and nodded. "Yes."

 

 

 

 


End file.
